This disclosure relates in general to thermal insulation for building structures including residential or commercial buildings, such as single residential houses, condominiums, town houses, and apartment buildings as well as office buildings, plants, warehouses, retail structures, farm buildings and the like.
It is known to add thermal insulation to the exterior walls and roofs of building structures to reduce the heat loss or gain from the interior of the structure to the outside environment. Insulation, such as fiberglass or cellulose may be placed between the studs, joists or rafters inside walls, ceilings or roofs. Also, batt insulation or insulation blankets may be draped between and over studs, joists or rafters. For example, in the case of a roof, batt insulation may be draped over purlins and roof decking may be attached to the purlins with the batt insulation being compressed between the roof decking and the purlins. Additionally, insulation, such as polystyrene panels, may be placed over the studs, joists or rafters of the exterior of walls or roofs before the application of an exterior finish, such as an exterior siding or roofing.
In the past, “cold bridges” formed across insulation panels between the interior of a structure and the exterior environment and was a serious problem creating localized areas of large heat loss or gain. Especially in colder climates, cold bridges through exterior insulation panels attached to the exterior of building structures under siding and shingles has been a serious source of heat loss driving heating costs and localized material damage, for example from condensation causing corrosion, mold, or rot.
Typically, in the past, rigid insulation, such as polystyrene panels, was attached to the exterior of cold formed steel (CFS) and wood studs. Such polystyrene panels typically do not maintain enough stiffness to allow the attachment of exterior finishes such as wood, synthetic or composite siding, or an exterior veneer such as brick, stone, or the like, directly to the polystyrene panels. Exterior finishes and veneers require fasteners attached through the polystyrene panels to the support structure to support the exterior finishes or veneers. The fasteners themselves may act as thermal conductors to form “cold bridges.” Moreover, these fasteners, which are typically case hardened and not meant to be in bending, typically cantilever through the rigid insulation panels creating openings, particularly over time, in the insulation panels allowing passages, air flow, and moisture transfer. Cold bridges, thus formed, also allow for corrosion and mold to form within the building structure in addition to heat loss.
What has been needed is an exterior insulation panel, especially in more generally hot or cold climates, that inhibits, if not eliminates “cold bridges” in such structures, substantially reduce if not eliminate water condensation in the insulation panel and the building structure, and can functionally support exterior finishes and veneers.
Disclosed is an insulation panel that may be used in the construction industry to provide more energy efficient building structures in both cold and hot weather environments by inhibiting “cold bridges” through the panel between the interior and exterior surfaces. The construction insulation panel comprises a main body formed of a first polymer having an exterior surface and an interior surface forming the opposite major surfaces of an insulating panel; and a mounting structure formed of a second polymer having a higher tensile strength and more rigidity than the first polymer. The mounting structure comprises at least one interior support member adapted to be positioned adjacent the interior surface of the main body, at least one exterior support member adapted to be positioned adjacent the exterior surface of the main body, and a plurality of spaced apart cross members extending between the interior support member and the exterior support member each having at least a virtual or an actual passage adapted to receive a first fastener adapted to fastening the mounting structure to a building structure under compressive loading. As used herein, the term “compressive loading” is intended to include the application of force upon a relatively compressible material where the material is physically compressed and deforms, or the application of force upon a more rigid material where the material is under physical stress, or a combination of both. In any case, the mounting structure is at least partially disposed within the main body and forms with the main body an insulating panel adapted to be fastened to a building structure and to support an exterior finishing material fastened at the exterior surface of the main body of the insulating panel to inhibit cold bridging.
The mounting structure may have a webbing between cross members so the webbing with the mounting structure forms a truss member. The web may be formed with the cross members as an imbedded truss. In either of the alternatives, the mounting structure may be fully disposed or partially disposed within the main body as desired in the particular embodiment. The mounting structure may be full encapsulated by the main body or a portion of the mounting structure may extend outside the main body. Accordingly, the mounting structure may be encapsulated in the main body or part of the either the interior surface or exterior surface, or both.
The cross members of the insulating panel may have virtual or actual passages therein shaped to cause the insulating panel to be place under compressive loading when fastened by first fasteners to a building structure. Such passages may be all virtual or actual preformed passages. The exterior portions of the first fasteners may be generally flush with or recessed from the exterior surface of the main body when positioned to fasten the insulating panel to a building structure.
The mounting structure may be one interior support member and one exterior support member, e.g., positioned substantially aligned to a building frame structure when the panel is installed, or a plurality of interior support members and a plurality of exterior support members spaced apart and coordinated to support the insulation panel and exterior finish material when fastened on a building structure. For example, the support members of the mounting structure may be spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing of wall studs or other building members in a building structure. In any case, the exterior support member is typically adapted to receive a second fastener capable of supporting an exterior building material to the insulating panel. Additionally, the insulating panel may be adapted to accommodate openings in buildings, such as windows or doors. As such, the insulating panel may be cut, trimmed, framed and/or fastened especially for desired windows, doors and other building openings in the desired embodiment
The insulating panel may also have alignment markings disposed on the exterior surface (on the main body and/or the exterior member of the mounting structure) to indicate the location of the cross members and passages therein to facilitate fastening of the insulating panels to a building structure and/or to indicate the location of the exterior support member to facilitate fastening of a exterior finish material to the insulation panel.
The main body of the insulating panel may include a UV-absorbing additive or have a UV-absorbing coating on the exterior and/or interior surface. The main body of the insulating panel may additionally or alternatively may include an antioxidant additive or coating on the exterior and/o interior surface.
The insulating panels may have at least some of the edge portions off-set so that adjacent panels may be assembled in a building structure overlapped laterally to provide strength and inhibit cold bridges between insulating panels. Additionally, each insulating panel may have a multi-piece mounting structure to adjoin upwardly and downwardly with edge portions of adjacent insulating panel having concave and convex rounded edge portions on opposite edge portions along their length so as to nest within the panel to avoid cold bridging between insulating panels. Alternatively the configuration of such adjoining edge portions may be of any desired complimentary configuration suitable to avoid cold bridging between adjoining edge portions of adjacent insulating panels.
A film adapted to provide durability to the insulating panel may be applied to the exterior surface or interior surface, or both, The durable film may have a pre-applied adhesive or an adhesive applied as the film is applied to the exterior surface and/or the interior surface. The film may provide sufficient strength to the insulating panel that the insulating panels may support workers when the insulating panels are in place on a building structure. This film may be particularly helpful where the insulating panels are adapted to be use as sub-roofing over purlins or roofing rafters.
Various aspects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.